When in Eternal Lines to Time Thou Grow'st
by basketinme
Summary: [AU] We take you to world of myth, unearthly wonder, peculiar wild—basically, it's typical medieval RPG realm. In this realm, Law's reputation doesn't change though it spares him the bounty. Alas, it doesn't spare him the trouble the duo brought to him. He can't refuse. He needs her since this realm doesn't give him his wish. Yet it'll give him something else—in this eternal verse.


**A/N:** Greetings :'D First of all, I must inform you that I'm a new author here in fanfiction and this is my first attempt making story in language besides my native, so pardon me for any grammatical errors you may find here and there oTZ Secondly, I thank you, people who still decide to keep reading this fic despite my feeble writing. It meant a lot for me :'D And I'd be very glad to hear what you guys think of this :'D Tbh, I've thought of choosing my other fic as the first one in english, but it's uh...kinda more complicated (I guess?) so I choose this simpler one instead for the test drive ^^ It's about Law/Bonney too. I hope someday I can present it to you in english as well...if you don't mind my crappy grammar oTZ

Special tag: **_Day-chan Arusuki_**. Here's another Law's fic you want, dear :* Sorry if it turns out to be this pair again, but I guess I cannot move on from this ship yet. I have too much fun sailing aboard it, lol. Still I hope it suits your liking :'D

**DISCLAIMER:** No matter what I do, I still cannot imagine what's on Oda's mind when he plotted this great manga, thus I rather not claim it as my work lest you hate the idea of seeing its downfall very soon. The title sounds familiar? Well it's taken from Shakespeare Sonnet 18, that's why. As for the cover image, I found it on pininterest. Yeah like I can draw it myself... oTZ

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><p><strong>++-++<strong>  
><strong>Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?<br>****++-++**

_His eyes snapped open, soon fluttered as light suddenly hit him without warning. The blurry image gradually became clearer. Grayish orbs scanned all the vision they could take, as though searching for something, only to realize they didn't even know what was it their owner's looking for. Silent. His mind felt like it clogged, couldn't come up with anything. Just how long has it passed for his brain to reach this state? He sighed—no, wait. His lips not even yielded._

_Wonderful._

_Well, better off studying his surroundings and saw what he could gather. That's the least he could do in his current situation._

_For now._

**|  
>xXx<br>|**

"And tell me, _what_ is that you brought me?"

The man in black coat was sitting on his seat. Crossed arms across his chest, definitely not amused. His eyes stared at the..._creature_ occupied the corner of his living room now, crouching while sending him this gesture he assumed as a mixture of growling and hissing. Yet his focus never fully left the two men stood at the center of the room. The ones who, more or less, were responsible for _that_ being. They did seem uneasy, but it didn't deter them to express their assertion.

"Give us a break, Law! You've got no idea what we went through just to go there AND getting back here? It's not an easy journey! Every second's filled with danger!"

"Yeah, and that thing you're looking for? I have said this and I'll say this again, can't you be more specific? Sure the name itself _sounds_ specific but uh...well if you could fix up with better direction and uh...coordinate? Things would've got easier!"

"For your information, we've been searching for day and night. Thoroughly! Well...I guess so. But because that place was so dense! There were vines everywhere! And thorns! And poison ivy! They're covering the whole road! It's a wild jungle, for freaking sake!"

"Not to mention, the inhabitants were not very welcoming. Savage wolves was one thing, but, dear Roger, the GIANT mosquitoes! You know how those beasts could get so annoying with their buzzing whenever you're trying to get sleep? Now they come in thri—no, SEVERAL THRICE the size! They could suck you dry! Oh, I _still_ can't believe we actually manage to get back here in one piece..."

Law stayed unfazed, "I presume your blood is still intact, thus I see no problem,"

"LAW!"

"Yet you still haven't informed me of how nor _why_ did you bring that to my house,"

The two men halted their rants and shared a glance. One of them sighed while the other tilted his head, thinking of the best way to explain so this particular man would be satisfied, "Alright...we've told you we found nothing in that jungle except for its vicious dwellers—both plants and mosquitoes. The clues you provided couldn't lead us any further so we thought it's best for us to come back,"

"Till that one suddenly jumped off from nowhere and attacked us! It's freaking dark out there and we had our hands full with the mosquitoes already so we're kinda unprepared back then. We thought it's the end of us,"

"Yeah, that one's pretty fast and strong. Had it been a starving wolf we'd be nothing but our bones by now. Literally,"

"But, no. It's a _human_. Still a starving one, regardless,"

"'Cause that one raided our foods! Not us, thankfully,"

"It's because you brought that leftover meat! I've told you to finish it up when we're camped,"

"Said someone who stuffed baked potatoes into his pocket. Nuh-uh, don't start with me, Penguin. I know what I saw,"

"You ate all my berries! I thought I've told you, Shachi. Hands off my snacks!"

"Sheesh, like you're not going to find it anymore. We're in a jungle, home of thousand berries,"

"Yeah, except it was a _dangerous_ jungle. And you know what, the berries were also _dangerous_. Those berries you ate were the only harmless ones I could find!"

"Come now, I—"

They're about to going on forever if the sound of Law clearing his throat couldn't be so menacing.

"A-Anyway..." Penguin hastily said, "The person took our rations and gone, or so what we'd thought,"

"After we found our way out of the jungle, no...a little farther than that actually, we'd came to realize that person's been following us,"

"We'd been on our guard the whole weeks, yet unlike previously no sortie's coming. Though Shachi claimed each of the campfire we left behind's always looked like it's been ransacked,"

"Most likely that one's doing. Not did we really care though, merely seek for our leftover it seemed...till Penguin had this idea on his mind,"

"Hey, you agreed on this too, didn't you?"

"I know, but it's your idea at first!" Shachi immediately brushed aside his further comment upon seeing Law's expression, "Ehm. You see, the jungle was so dense, I say even if we had tried our best to explore it, there should be some hidden areas for outsiders like us that still beyond reach. We need an informant. But with savage beasts roaming everywhere, we can assure you it's really not a place for humans to live...except for _her_,"

He nodded to the said 'her', who was now glaring back at him in the same manner as she did to Law a few minutes ago. Law raised his eyebrow, "So...you suggest me _that_ being you brought here would know those hidden areas you're talking about,"

"Exactly!" Penguin brightly chimed in, "Well, not sure if there are others who manage to make a living out of that wild jungle, but so far, she's the only one we meet. She's definitely a native. Just look at her!"

If Penguin's idea of native would be somebody whose appearance resembled _so much_ of the place where they lived in, then yes, she's definitely a native. She even had these vines and leaves covering her whole body. In fact, that's the only thing that appeared to be her clothes, albeit done a poor job of leaving some places unhidden. But in a safe level, thankfully, as it concealed what should be concealed.

Dirt and soil were smeared all over her skin, making her more and more like a trunk with her already green attire. Law couldn't saw her eyes well since her dirty long pink hair was sort of blocked the view, yet he still caught a glimpse of violet behind those locks. She seemed aware of everyone's attention that was now on her because she's starting to snarl some more and posing a defensive crouch. No cage or the likes to confine her, but her hands were tied to a pillar with a thick rope.

"Quite a fierce one, ain't she? Both look and nature. But fear not 'cause even without that apparel, I think yours are quite ominous as well," Shachi gleefully remarked and got an instant frown in return, "What? I was complimenting!"

Law took a moment of silence before exhaling tiredly, though he still had his composure well-kept. His hands tucked into his coat pocket while nodding toward the girl, "How well do you guys know her?"

"Mmm...okay, so we know the rambo girl lived in the jungle somehow. And for someone with a strength like her, she's fairly slim," Penguin answered him.

"I say she must be a cutie without that dirt masking her frame. Oh, and she likes to growl a lot," Shachi added.

"Tell me something _I don't know_," said Law rather impatiently, "Yes, I'm being sarcastic here and yes, it's also a demand,"

"...Err, she loves bread? Especially with sausage topping,"

"Something _important_!"

"Geez, relax!" Penguin threw up his hands in defeat, "Alright, we know nothing! We only thought of how to catch her, brought her back with us so we could present her to you!"

"So you both never talked to her?"

"Got her snarled us back," Shachi shrugged.

"Anything she'd ever said besides snarling, growling, hissing, grunting, barking, howling...I don't know, _anything_?"

Penguin rubbed his chin, "Mmm...I'm not quite sure...I don't really speak _jungle_nese,"

Law resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "She can't talk,"

"Yeah okay, look," Shachi waved his hands, "That's the problem now. Even if she's trying to tell us something with that snarling, we don't have a clue what she talks about. Probably a side effect of too long staying in the jungle. I don't know for how freaking long, but her appearance alone could tell us much. I mean, I'm not even surprised if she in fact can share jokes with those mosquitoes,"

"Maybe you can try to teach her our words," Penguin offered, "Learn from the basic first they said, like 'This-is-an-apple' thing or something. Come on, you can do it! You're a doctor! Dealing with people is your forte, yeah?"

The said expert flashed him a dry look, "I'm a doctor, _not_ a psychiatry. And doctor doesn't teach people 'This-is-an-apple', he tell them 'This-apple-is-poisonous-that's-why-your-fucking-stomach-hurts-so-calm-the-shit-down-if-you-want-me-to-save-your-sorry-ass',"

Penguin gulped down his afterthought. Nothing good would ever come from Law speaking f-words, quotation or not. Still, he's sort of understood why most of Law's patients couldn't calm the shit down every time he began his treatment.

Like, who wouldn't? When those D-E-A-T-H tattoos on both of his knuckles were so obvious for all the world to see, saying thing you didn't want to think while wondering whether this doctor you trusted was going to prevent it or cause it to happen.

"What's more, how can you both be so sure she would gladly take the words? I thought she's already like _this_ the first time you met her," Law took his eyes off the men for a second to look at the girl, and unsurprisingly, she bored him back another scowl, "Unfriendly gesture. No fissure for discussion, let alone learning something. So how, pray tell, could you even suggest me to teach her words?"

"...Okay, that's the problem number two,"

"How many layers does this problem have actually, if you would be so kind to tell me? 'Cause I have a 'dealing-with-pain-ass-works' limit to consider beforehand,"

"Oh come now, Law," At this point, Penguin's almost desperate looking for any convincing reason...which was something he and Shachi deficient in these past few minutes, "See, I know you're upset, but why don't you try to at least take up this chance? I, uh...oh I hate to say this...Law! You currently don't have many options left. I know you're already at the end of your rope,"

Law's actually muted at this, so Shachi decided to pick up where his partner left off...as he always alternately did with Penguin, in fact.

"We're thinking of you, you know. We, uh...kind of feel bad when we thought we couldn't offer you any result in spite of the trust you gave us. Yeah, your clues are suck and confusing but—hold on, I haven't finished yet! Ehm, well it's not really _that_ suck, considering the thing you're looking for is _that_ thing. That's also why you need someone else who knows it better. And that's most likely her,"

Upset, was one thing Law had been clearly seen from the two men's point of view, but deep down, he's already contemplating this matter.

It's true they might seem like a happy-go-lucky duo who loved to complaint and talk a lot. As in reality, they were indeed. Yet they're also best known for their skills as hunters. Law's circle—despite being a healer everyone often sought—was not really wide to begin with, given the reputation he earned. Nevertheless, he still acknowledged them as the most suitable people for this situation. That's why he didn't regret drafted them both. When he sent these two on the journey, Law's already made a prediction of its success rate based on the new information he had collected.

It's less than 1%.

Pretty big if you took into account its preceding, which was closer to zero.

Law knew this. He had predicted it. This result shouldn't have bothered him much. And yet...

...

Maybe Penguin was right. All of this had taken its toll on him. Although Law couldn't tell whether this so-called chance would make it better or instead, even worse.

"Besides, it doesn't mean you can't tame her at all," Penguin proudly claimed, "Just give her food. _Any_ food. Even leftover will do. Though she especially loves the sausage topped bread. We've told you, haven't we?"

"That's also how we're able to catch her. Solved the hassle in a jiffy! But uh...she sure knows how to load all those foods into her slender body. And her eating speed...err, you might want to pay attention to that,"

"But no worries! Food will certainly make her docile. Try to think of this feral dog that you can pet after giving her food,"

"Yeah, she'll turn into a cute puppy and you may do anything you want to her,"

"Anything! 'Cause she's your pet and you're the master. Sounds great, huh?"

A pall of heavy silence befell the gathered males.

"Alright, you know what, let's stop it. That just sounds _so wrong_," Shachi was the first to cut in.

"A-Anyway, she's harmless if you treat her food. Mmm...well, for only that moment though. She'll start hissing at you again eventually," Penguin managed a weak smile as he scratched his cheek, "But, better than none, right?"

Law still had this frown on his face, yet he said nothing. He took his time to straighten up on his seat, shifted his focus toward the main interest of this lengthy discussion. She looked rather calm now, not really sure if it's because she'd slowly adapted to her surroundings or just simply tired. The latter was more convincing though, "Better than none, huh?"

He whipped his head back forward, "You both may leave now,"

Hearing that, both Shachi and Penguin let out a big sigh of relief they'd been holding since the beginning of this conversation. Or maybe even much, much earlier than that when they're arguing whether to knock on Law's door house for reporting in or come back later only to prolong the dilemma a bit. They leaned against each other's back to exaggerate the gesture.

"I'll see you guys again if I need something else,"

"Yeah, just give us a visit,"

"Of course, 'cause I don't think you both can get off this issue so lightly,"

"EH?!" Both hunters paled in unison.

"I believe I've never given my consent to this, haven't I? Thus I'll _definitely_ see you guys again," They groaned. Should have already known nothing good would ever come, also, from Law smirking that smirk, "And then—"

"There's still more?!"

Law paused for a couple of seconds, "...Good job for make it back here," His trademark smirk still spreading over his look, "I see you truly live up to your reputation. I'm looking forward to hire your skill again,"

The two men blinked, for one moment thought their ears had been playing tricks on them. But then, their eyes begin to water and soon trembling in gross sobbing, "LAAAAAAAAAW!"

They came rushing forward, instantly fell to their knees before him.

"We know it! We know it you're not some sort of vile and heartless villain they always say!"

"Or that you go healing some people but in fact, you secretly take their still beating heart for collection!"

"Or when you perform a surgery, you're actually messing up the internal organs without the owner's knowing!"

"Or that you like to kill some polar bears so you can fill your tub with their blood and take a bath in it!"

"Whoa, hold on. I don't remember I heard that rumour before. Was there?"

"The old man lived next to the clock tower told me about it on one night. You know, the night when we failed that bird quest,"

"Ah, that wicked bird. The wound on my back's always getting itchy every time I think of that monster,"

"Haha, yeah...since you got it in the lamest possible way ever like—Pfft!"

"Oh stop it, you. It wasn't funny. And I'll never forget that thing you'd done afterward,"

"You still mad? Aw, come on. At least I wasn't completely abandoned you. I even took you to the doctor. Remember the piggyback ride?"

"Hmph, this and that are different stories. But well, if it wasn't because of Law, my wound would've gotten worse..."

"I know right? Thanks Roger we still know the place,"

"Yeah. Thanks again, Law, I really appreciate it,"

The hunters both looked up, smile upon their lips, only to meet Law's super tedious face staring down at them, "You guys done chattering?"

"Uh...we guess so,"

"Splendid," That unruffled mien showed no humour, "Now, scram,"

"O-Okay," The fussy doublet pulled themselves up off the floor and hurriedly striding their way toward the door. Shachi turned the knob open, "I, umm, kinda hope we're not gonna '_see you around_' very soon 'cause, you know, need to rest and stuff...so in that case—" He sent a brief wave, "Take care, Law" and stepped out of the house.

Penguin was about to follow after his partner when he slowly stopped, face slanted with hesitation.

"Do you still need anything?"

Law's voice made him turned on his heel, leaving the door half open, "I'm just wondering..." He pursued his lips nervously, "...Do you think...uh, umm...Do you think you can still find something else besides that thing?" Penguin now looked a bit settled to see the doctor in the eyes, "It's not like we don't trust you, but the thing itself is just..._sounds_ impossible! We...We'll lend you our help, don't worry! No matter what they say, we're going to help you! So maybe anything other than that f—"

"—I appreciate your concern, Penguin," Law cut him off, uttering a final tone, "Yet for now, you need to rest. I thought Shachi had eagerly noted it earlier so why don't you do the same? You both deserve it the most,"

The hunter's mouth was still slightly agape, but then slowly closed and nodded, decided to take his words as he's giving no rift for further argument. Penguin spun back, took one step off the room, "Take care, Law. I mean it,"

Law didn't reply.

And by the sound of door closing, silence reigned over the place once more. Only two persons were detracted from the room yet the significance of its distinction could be so immense. Well, Law could just say it's one of the capacity those two shared...that might actually at par with their hunter's skill, if the former had not overtopped the latter yet. And Law didn't live with anyone here. He wasn't the type who overly fond of speaking his mind out loud either, so this quietness was plausible.

_***RUMBLE***_

Alright, his mistake. Law _did_ live with anyone now. And was forced to, for more accurate.

"You hungry?" He idly asked, eyes glanced to the source of the heavy grumble. It came from none other than that new 'anyone' on the corner. She still held her scrooching pose, but for a brief moment, Law's still able to catch the sight of her head turning around, seemed to observe her surroundings. Her body tensed a bit, indicating that she heard his voice loud and clear. She's already opened her mouth when Law cut her short, "No need to growl, I already figured it much,"

She momentarily froze, sent him a low grunt instead. Law furrowed his brow a little, "Do you understand what I said?"

The girl stopped the grunt and tilted her head. Her amethyst orbs flickered behind her locks simultaneously. She pulled her lips slightly, made him wondered if she wanted to convey something. And Law's actually waiting for it.

Yet after a good thirty seconds, she's back to the hissing act. He took a great effort to refrain himself from face-palming right this instant. So what he had feared before was came true. Not only did she can't talk, but she didn't even understand one.

Suddenly the future looked grimmer than his already own.

Law sighed, rising from his seat and standing still. He scanned his small living room for a while but didn't spot the thing he looked for. He frowned. Where's that thing when he finally needed it? He used to put it near the entrance. Or perhaps, he'd mistaken? Had he already eliminated it for good?

Law shrugged. It couldn't be helped then.

He barely thought twice about searching it more thoroughly as he turned around to confront the jungle lassie. But the sight that's been presented made him quirked an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

The pinkette had lifted her head, sniffing the air fervently. She shifted her body to trail whatever scent that lured her to a tower of books a few steps behind her. She wanted to lean closer but the rope on her wrist that tied her to pillar restrained her from leaving. Though it couldn't restrain her from sniffing intently. Law angled his vision to the other side of the books' tower. Nothing caught his interest. He moved his gaze to the far right till it reached something covered in paper bag on the shelf.

Ah, so there it was. Law had thought he'd threw it away, that bread.

The bizarre substance's never deserved a spot in his memories anyway. It was those villagers who sometimes brought it here in exchange of his medical service. He's already told them to bring anything except THAT, yet it never went through their skull.

Well, let's stayed positive. Maybe its role had been prepared _solely_ for this very day.

Law would never accept otherwise.

"..._Mori_-ya," **[1]** Law called her. She ceased her sniffing and blinked at him, "Yes, you," He seemed to get her attention now, "Alright, I think we've gotten off to a bad start, so let's just start over," He put one hand on his chest, "I'm Law," opened his hands wide, "This...is my house. And you..." pointed his finger at her, "...are going to li—no, wait! I didn't mean to challenge you so stop bawling!"

Oh, this gonna be a real handful.

"Look, I mean you no harm..." He lifted up his hands and showed her both of his palms. The girl still crouched on her knees, growling a shallow threaten. Slowly, Law took off his coat and let it pooled by his feet, revealing a dark-blue long sleeve T-shirt beneath it, "See? Nothing to harm you. I just want to...talk," Okay, maybe a one-sided talk since he's the one with words and she's with the growls.

It seemed his effort paid off as the pinkette gently relaxed her posture. She's no longer growling, now staring at Law's chest with interest. Law glanced down, "Ah...this?" He touched the big yellow smiley embroidered on his T-shirt's front. It's been covered by his coat this whole time, "You like it?" The girl tilted her head, pondering as her sight never left off it. Law smirked, but somewhat looked warmer.

"Okay...now, listen," He believed now was the best time for real talk, "We need something from each other. I..." He gestured to himself then thrust a circle sign toward her head, "...need your knowledge of your home," Law knew she wouldn't understand now but he just needed to state it somehow, "And you..." He pointed at her and dragged his finger slowly to the paper bag, "...need that food," Her head tailed his finger's trail. The tower of books may blocked her view but she still licked her lips, making Law's smirk grew wider. The loud rumble from her stomach that followed after pleased him even more.

"You want it, don't you? The food behind those books," He teased, "I can give it to you. _A lot_ of it. All you have to do...is to trust me," That word coming from his own tongue's never sounded more awkward in his ears. But he of all knew it's the best thing required to make this situation went in his favor, "I will walk closer...so I can take that thing off you," He signed to the rope on her wrist and she glanced down shortly afterward, "Yes, that thing. You can't eat without getting your hands free first, right?"

As much as the idea of her being his pet was...fairly conceivable, Law simply couldn't approve a discourteous act such as eating like one so he spared her the fate.

And Law didn't feed.

"I'm coming to you now," One step, two steps...he took his stride carefully toward her with hands lifted up. The girl stiffened, prepared to back to her huddle form, "Easy..." _I won't bite_, he'd like to add. Yet somehow, he figured his would be less threatening compared to hers.

He'd already walked across more than half the gap. Only three steps more until Law reached her, he stopped and squatted down, "I need to touch you to untie it...and you'll get the food," He directed his finger to the rope and then the bread, "Untie. Food. It's simple. Understand?"

The pinkette kept her guard up, yet her orbs peeked curiously behind her hair drape, as if studying him. She continued the act a little longer before finally loosened up. Feeling contented, Law nodded. He moved closer and gingerly touched her wrist. Her body tensed in his wake, but only for a moment as Law could assured her of his harmless intention with his stare. Though it difficult for her to understand his words, she somewhat could still understand his gesture.

One step at a time, they said. He wondered how much time she would need to get on her next step.

"Done. Now I—"

A sudden gust of wind blasted him off balance, "Wh—" No. It was her dashing past him in a flash.

The book's stacks on his side were also falling as she completely knocked them down. The sound of them collapsed resounded throughout the air for a while. And when he scanned the room for her, she's already on the other farthest corner, busied herself with paper bag on hands. Trail of mess could be seen on the way to her spot, but she paid no heed, obviously, 'cause she's now eagerly shredding the bag with her teeth to devour the thing her stomach already craved for.

Law could only stare, too tired to even utter a word. Not soon after, he let loose a sigh, closed his eyes while untangling his hair, "I thought summer's the only blazing hot one around here..." He cracked his eyes open, "...I see you're too hot to handle as well,"

As much as the idea of her being his pet was...fairly conceivable, she's certainly had already become his something.

Yes, he shouldn't trouble himself evicting the bizarre substance from his house now since he had his personal trash can for it. After all, she needed to do something else to cover her blunder till she could serve him her real purpose.

Oh, come now. Law could at least please himself once in a while, couldn't he?

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><p><strong>[1]<strong> Law's habit for calling people with -ya suffix is called Yagou [屋号] (based on SBS vol. 62), literally means 'house name'. Quoted from wiki: "Back on Muromachi period, commoners in Japan didn't have family name, so yagou would often come about to describe people by their **_location_**, occupation, or by a store or business they owned." E.g. Mugiwara-ya = the one wears/works as/known as straw hat. Since I made Bonney come from jungle in this fic, I used _Mori_-ya as the nickname. Mori [森] is a Japanese word for 'forest'. Just because I find 'forest-ya' or 'jungle-ya' too horrible to read (= =a )


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